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Lawrence Chung

 
Taiwan’s disgraced former president Chen Shui-bian showed up at the venue of a political fundraising dinner on Saturday – his first public appearance since his release from jail on medical parole in January last year – despite being told by prison officials not to go.
Disgraced former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian freed from jail on one month's medical parole
Dozens of supporters of the wheelchair-bound Chen shouted “Abian go, go, go” and “Free the president” as he was pushed into a VIP room in the building hosting the dinner in Taipei, attended by more than 1,000 people.
Chen met politicians, including Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu, Tainan Mayor William Lai and Koo Kuan-min, a veteran leader of the hardcore pro-independence camp, and many of his supporters, Taiwanese media reported.
Taiwan's jailed ex-president Chen Shui-bian tries to hang himself
The Taichung Prison had warned that should Chen violate his parole regulations by attending any political events he could end up being sent back to jail.
It was not immediately known if prison officials regarded Chen’s visit as violating its rules.

Chen – convicted of corruption during his time as president between 2000 and 2008 – had served more than six years of his 20-year jail term at the time of his release.
He shook hands with well-wishers, who had queued up for hours to greet him, Taiwanese media reported.
“The former president looked rather happy and nodded to us after shaking hands with us,” the SET cable television quoted one supporter as saying.
Organisers of the dinner, held by the Ketagalan Foundation to raise funds to pay for Chen’s office, also warned supporters greeting Chen not to take his photograph because it could result in him being sent back to jail.
Corrupt former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has no further role to play in politics
They said that Chen, who stayed at Saturday’s event for only two hours, did not directly attend the dinner. “So the former president did not violate the parole regulations,” one organiser said.
Chen originally sent a request to prison authorities to attend Saturday’s dinner and visit his former residence, which was converted into a home for senile people.
On Friday prison officials rejected his plan to attend the fundraising dinner on the grounds that it was a politically related event.
Yet it did permit Chen to visit his former Taipei residence after the medical team looking after his health said that meeting and chatting with his friends could be beneficial for him.
Footage aired by a cable television station showed the former president looking a bit disturbed as he was pushed into his former home, where his supporters had been waiting for hours.
Will Chen Shui-bian's release on medical parole change Taiwan's political landscape?
Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung, said: “My father took part in those activities [that] will help improve his health. It was strictly a medical activity, and nothing to do with politics.”
He said his father had stuck to the principle of “not going on stage, speaking to the public or giving interviews to others”.
 
While in jail, his health deteriorated rapidly, so last January he was granted medical parole to serve out the rest of his sentence at home.


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Did Taiwan’s disgraced former president Chen Shui-bian break prison parole rules by visiting venue of fundraising dinner?

Former President Chen Shui-bian, who is wheelchair-bound, travels to Taipei on Saturday to visit the venue of a fundraising dinner. Photo: CNA

To go with interview story Taiwan-politics-Chen by Amber Wang In a picture taken on May 8, 2010, Chen Chih-chung, son of jailed former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian, chants slogans during a rally in Taipei. The son of Taiwan's convicted former president Chen Shui-bian said he is ready to embark on a political career to defend his father and carry on his ideals pushing for the island's independence. AFP PHOTO/Sam YEH

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It was not immediately known if prison officials believe he has violated regulations by visiting a VIP room in the same Taipei building hosting event


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New | Did Taiwan’s disgraced former president Chen Shui-bian break prison parole rules by visiting venue of fundraising dinner?

It was not immediately known if prison officials believe he has violated regulations by visiting a VIP room in the same Taipei building hosting event